A candle is placed next to a picture of Wolfsburg’s midfielder Junior Malanda in Wolfsburg, central Germany yesterday, a day after the Belgian died in a car accident. (AFP)
AFP/Wolfsburg
The death of Belgian Under-21 international midfielder Junior Malanda has left his German club Wolfsburg devastated but they will still go to South Africa for their training camp said sporting director Klaus Allofs yesterday.
The 20-year-old was in the back seat of a car travelling to join up with his teammates on Saturday afternoon when it smashed into a tree—the two other people in the car survived. “It was not an easy decision but we think that it is the good one,” said Allofs. “The team were totally devastated when they learnt the news.”
Allofs said the team would fly out later last night having cancelled their original flight scheduled for Saturday on learning the news. “We were told of the news when we were already at the airport (Hanover) and we decided immediately to cancel the flight,” said Allofs.
Dieter Hecking, coach of Wolfsburg, was in tears at the press conference. “He has a left a huge gap. But I think it was the correct decision to distance ourselves from Wolfsburg,” said Hecking.
Wolsburg, second in the league table behind defending champions Bayern Munich at the time of the winter break, will stay in South Africa till January 17, which will include a game against South African second-placed league side Ajax on the 14th.
Some of the Wolfsburg entourage may fly home early if the funeral of Malanda takes place during their sojourn.
The Belgian FA said on their website that the nation had lost one of its greatest talents, pointing out he had represented the national team at all age levels.
“Wherever he went Junior made a good impression. Beside his footballing talent and impressive physique he was always in a good mood. He was the current captain of our under-21 side, which is testament to his good character and leadership skills,” read the statement.
Before joining the Bundesliga club, Malanda had played at Anderlecht in Belgium and at Lille in France. He had 15 under-21 caps with Belgium and had played 10 German league games this season.
Everton and Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku said he was stunned by the death of his compatriot who had played against him in November when the English side won a Europa League tie 2-0 at the German club. “I love you my brother,” wrote Lukaku on Instagram. “Junior, why you my brother. My brother, one of my unique friends, I cannot believe you are not there anymore.”